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The gallbladder is a small, pear-shaped organ just under your liver. It stores bile, the digestive fluid the liver makes to digest fat. Sometimes the gallbladder gets inflamed. This happens when the flow of bile is blocked. This can be caused by gallstones (hard deposits that form inside your gallbladder), injury, or other conditions. When this happens, you may experience pain and other symptoms. Your healthcare provider may want to remove your gallbladder. Fortunately, we don’t need our gallbladders to live. And removal usually doesn’t cause complications.

It is important to note that not all people who have gallstones require surgery to remove their gallbladder. Your healthcare provider will help decide which course of action is best for you and your symptoms.

Path to improved health

If you have gallbladder pain and other symptoms, you may need surgery to remove your gallbladder. The surgery to remove the gallbladder is called a cholecystectomy.

During traditional surgery, the gallbladder is removed through a 5- to 8-inch (13-20 cm) – long incision (cut) in your abdomen. This is called an open cholecystectomy.

The more common way to remove the gallbladder is called laparoscopic cholecystectomy. During this surgery, 3 to 4 small incisions are made in your abdomen. Then instruments are inserted through the cuts. The surgeon uses the instruments to look at the gallbladder and remove it.

One of the instruments used is called a laparoscope. This is a small, thin tube with a camera on the tip. The camera is used to see the inside of your body. The camera shows your gallbladder on a TV screen. This allows the surgeon to see the gallbladder while they remove it. Your surgeon will insert tools in the other cuts to complete the surgery. Your gallbladder is then taken out through one of the incisions.

After the gallbladder is removed, your surgeon will clamp off all the bile ducts. They will close the incisions with stitches, staples, or glue. The procedure takes 1 to 2 hours. Most people go home the same day or the day after the surgery.

What are the benefits of this type of surgery?

Laparoscopic cholecystectomy has many advantages. Unlike traditional surgery, laparoscopic surgery can be done without cutting the muscles of your abdomen. This may allow you to:

• have less pain after surgery
• have a shorter hospital stay
• have a shorter recovery time
• return to work more quickly

The incision is also much smaller and the scars are much less noticeable than those made by traditional cholecystectomy.

Who shouldn’t have this type of surgery?

If you had surgery around your gallbladder before, if you tend to bleed a lot or if you have any problem that would make it hard for your healthcare provider to see your gallbladder, an open surgery may be better for you.

Your healthcare provider will decide which type of surgery is appropriate for you.

Things to consider

As with any surgery, there could be complications. Complications are rare but may include:

• Bleeding
• Infection
• Injury to the duct (tube) that carries bile from your gallbladder to your stomach
• Bile leakage

In addition, the intestines, liver, or major blood vessels may be injured when the instruments are inserted into the abdomen. Remember, all of these complications are rare. But if you’re experiencing unusual pain after gallbladder surgery, contact your surgeon right away.

It is also common to have some diarrhea for a while after surgery.